how long will sap last?

[RI syrup]

Hi all, happy new season. Just finished a 1 gallon batch. Tried somthing new, ran the syrup through a paper filter inside an orlon filter still boiling, let filter overnight then brought syrup to a slow boil and filtered with paper inside orlon again and presto cyrstal clear syrup! Anyway my question is in this forum some say they keep their sap up to a week or so , let it get cloudy then boil it. Anybody else do this ? If so is it a flavor thing? Thanks rob

[ebourassa]

you can boil cloudy sap and still make syrup, just watch when it gets real stringy look dont bother, I boiled some stuff that looked real milky and stringy and the syrup didnt come out very good, it was a good lesson i learned, but if you can keep cool and out of the sun you might make a week.

[red maples]

not really sure of your question but I try to boil as soon as I have enough sap. basically everyother day. you want to treat it like milk it will start to turn after a few days. the longer you let it sit the more the sugar ferments and the more bacteria you have and the lower the sugar content. therefore the longer you let it sit the darker the product! and the longer you have to boil to get syrup.

[skillet]

I feel the darker syrup has a better flavor and sells better than the light early season stuff. One thing about letting the sap get cloudy is you must clean you tank out very good between refills. Otherwise you will end up with a film and if you don't get that clean your sap will turn cloudy earlier each time. Possibly spoiling before you get a chance to boil it down. You may want to try to keep every thing as clean as possible, at least till the last run.

[farmall h]

That's just plain nasty in my opinion. Boil it as soon as possible.

[imspiker]

I agree, boil it ASAP the bacteria is what causes the cloudyness and they are growing by eating the sugar. boil it good first ASAP and you can then store it at or below freezing for a few days at most before it needs to be re-boiled to again kill any bacteria that starts growing. I do this with mine in batches every time, I collect in 5 gallon buckets, I have 2 sets of buckets one collecting from taps & tubing the other full and or boiling. I drain off boiling sap into the buckets each time and clean & sterilize the buckets each and every time I boil this way and store boiled sap in the same collection buckets and let it cool in the snow and store. If I get too much stored up I used 64 qt cooler to store sap that has been once or twice boiled in.

I have 2 coolers AND about 10 buckets.

Homemade 44" x 42" x 8" main cooker pan w. 3 dividers smaller 24x14x4 middle cooker pan, and several 30qt finishing pans, all S.S. I can through multi-stage filters final is a felt clarifying filter and use mason jars, make about 5 gallons/yr for home use & give-a-ways...:o

MarkM

[C.Wilcox]

That's just plain nasty in my opinion. Boil it as soon as possible.

Who doesn't like a little sauerkraut with their syrup? :)

[Maplesedge]

I can only boil on weekends. I'm getting a solid 5 gal. of sap per day that I store in the same 5 gal. water bags I collect in. 4o gal./week is a lot. I keep the bags where the sun don't shine and bury them in snow. A lot of the time they freeze up a bit. But come boiling day the sap is still clean and clear, and I don't think I've ever made anything darker than medium amber.

Keep it cold. Keep it out of the sun.

[WESTVIRGINIAMAPLER]

You can also freeze a bucket or two of sap and throw it into the sap every day and it will help it keep a lot longer. North side of a hill or building is the best place to store it.

[BoarsNest]

Does anyone use a sap hydrometer to test their sap after it's in a holding tank to monitor the change to the stringy stuff your talking about? I am planning on boiling on weekends and maybe one day during the week. If I test the tank when I leave the shack and then again we I start up it would give me some good information on the status of what I would be getting when I boil.

[Treetapper]

I agree boil everything you collect with in two days if possible. If I can't keep up I will pitch any thing that looks cloudy. To much work involved to contaminate your tanks and pans with bad sap. Or try to find someone local to cook it if you figure you have too much to keep. I know time is the factor with "work" always getting in the way of our hobbies and passions!

[maple flats]

You can store it as long as you keep it real cold for even 6-7 days. You only run into a problem when it heats up. As long as it is still crystal clear you are fine, if it becomes even slightly cloudy you have feed some bacteria with sugar, resulting in less syrup but with better flavor.

[RileySugarbush]

I agree with maple flats. Some of my best tasting syrup was from slightly cloudy sap. Dark but wonderful maple flavor. With near freezing nights and the tanks out of the sun in the day time, maybe in banks of snow, you can hold sap over a week easily. Don't be too quick to throw it out!

[Brent]

I don't think you'll see any change in hydrometer readings as it ages. The microbes convert some of sugars from sucrose to fructose and glucose as they multiply and that change will be nearly impossible to see with a hydrometer.

You could try glucose test sticks from the drug store, as suggested elsewhere on the forum, but no details we given on how to test.